Into the Past
by Jingoro
Summary: People make mistakes. It seems gods do as well... R/A. Please R&R!
1. The Nanban Mirror

Into the Past  
  
-Jingoro-  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ does not belong to me. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi so please don't sue me, as I have no money to give anyone.  
  
"" are used for talking  
  
'' are used for thought  
  
Chapter one: The Nanban Mirror  
  
Ranma had currently mastered the Umisen-ken. It was such a great technique. He had to give credit to the old man. Genma had truly been a great martial artist in his prime. Ranma had been sneaking in everyone's room, except Kasumi as he felt she was the only one who really didn't deserve to have anyone peeping in her room. He hadn't done anything perverted mind you, just testing how good the Umisen-ken truly was. It was when he entered the Happosai's room that he decided to actually look around. The old freak, while a pervert of the highest caliber, held many things of actual value. As Ranma looked around until he found something that caught his fancy. It was the Nanban mirror. More importantly, it was a repaired Nanban mirror. This was something that Ranma could definitely use. He could finally get away from al the chaos that surrounded him in his life. No more obsessive Amazons wanting to marry him or kill him. No more rivals trying to kill him. No more obsessive friends wanting to marry him. No more sneaky soon to be sister in law. No more pushy fathers. No more having to hide from mom. No more Akane… no he would get away from everything, even Akane. She couldn't l-l-lo-like him at all. She was always hitting him for everything that happened whether it was his fault or not. Well, no more. Ranma had had enough. This little artifact was the key to his freedom. It wasn't like he was going to stay wherever it took him forever. Just long enough to get a handle on things in his mind. After he had had enough time alone he would come back and fix things. Yeah, that was right. He would figure out what to do in a peaceful time period and come back with a clear mind. With that set he went back into his room to figure out what time period he would go to. He pulled out his history textbook and started reading. Yes, that's right, you heard me he started reading.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma had not been seen all day. Normally he would have been glomped, attacked, flown half way across Nerima, insulted, malleted, and given numerous amounts of presents, mainly food, from his numerous admirers. But none of this had happened and the people of Nerima were frightened. It had been a normal day and they didn't know how to deal with normalcy, and what they didn't know frightened them. They were half expecting their town to blow up or the end of the world. Well, that's what happened when Ranma decided to take a break from his life. Pure unadulterated peacefulness. Well, the people closest to Ranma were beginning to become unnerved. The Amazons, however, had a business to run, as did Ukyo, giving them something to keep their minds on. Ryoga had been missing for two days and wouldn't be around for at least a week or two. The Kuno's were busy being crazy in their house living in their own private worlds filled with even more craziness. Being the weekend both Kuno's had decided to stay home to devise new ways to save their beloved from the evil that held them captive. Well, whatever it was that they were doing made no difference to anyone as long as they didn't bother them. Most other rivals were off somewhere else fuming about how they should have beaten Ranma and how next time they fought they would win, no problem. However, the group of people in the Tendo household had no such distractions. They were left to do whatever they wanted to do. So they spent that time wondering what Ranma had been up to since early in the morning when he had kicked Genma out of the room while also telling everyone else to leave him alone. The tension in the air was so thick that you could taste it, and it tasted bad. Finally they all snapped. Soun was the first to speak up.  
  
"Akane, go check on Ranma to see what he is doing. You're his fiancée so you should see what he's up to."  
  
"I agree," agreed Genma nodding his head, "Go check on the worthless boy. He should be training with me, not slacking off like he is. He'll get soft if this keeps up."  
  
"Yeah Akane," said Nabiki, "Don't you want to see what he's doing?"  
  
"He must be awfully hungry by now. You should call him down to eat something," stated Kasumi in a calm yet firm voice that held no disagreement.  
  
"FINE! You people are so annoying! Who cares what the perverts doing anyways!" screamed an increasingly angry Akane.  
  
As Akane started towards Ranma's room everyone got up to follow. Akane twirled around to give them a glare that could melt steel. However, the group behind her were made of stuff tougher than steel. Well, the two men were more like marshmallows and immediately crumpled to the ground. The two sisters merely picked them up and followed Akane. Finally, giving in, she climbed the stairs and knocked on Ranma's door.  
  
"RANMA! What are you doing?!" yelled Akane.  
  
"Nothing! Go away and leave me alone!" retorted Ranma from behind the door.  
  
'Why that jerk! Argh! That's it I'm finding out what he's doing if it's the last thing I do!'  
  
With that she stepped back a few steps and charged at the door.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma had been thinking all day on where he would go. He hadn't figured out any place to go yet. It was starting to get annoying. Finally he decided to just chance it and go wherever fate took him when Akane had called him.  
  
"RANMA! What are you doing?!" yelled Akane.  
  
"Nothing! Go away and leave me alone!" he had answered while trying to make himself cry.  
  
A single tear had finally formed and was ready to drop when Akane had slammed through the door. It was like everything had suddenly gone into slow motion. The teardrop fell slowly as Akane stumbled into Ranma making contact with him as the teardrop splashed onto the mirror. As the rest of the family rushed in, time miraculously seemed speed up again. However, instead of an angry couple they were presented with an empty room and a simple note that read, "Needed some time alone. Will be back later. –Ranma."  
  
*****  
  
As Ranma slowly opened his eyes he realized two things. One, he was not in his room anymore. Two, Akane was on his lap unconscious. The second made Ranma blush as he slowly shook Akane to wake up. As she stirred Ranma placed her on the wall they had ended up next to and got up to look around his surroundings. Nothing seemed familiar to him. The people were wearing funny clothes too. In fact it didn't seem as if they were in Nerima anymore.  
  
'Wonder where I am? It sure doesn't look like Nerima and I don't see the dojo anywhere. Might as well ask someone for help,' thought Ranma as he continued his survey of the area.  
  
As Ranma looked around he noticed the sun reflecting off of something on the ground. As he looked down he saw the Nanban mirror, shattered with the different pieces surrounding the handle.  
  
"Damn it! Now what do we do?! We're gonna be stuck here! ARGH!" he shouted.  
  
*****  
  
Hearing someone yell, in an obviously distressed voice, Akane began to stir.  
  
'Ugh, where am I? Last thing I remember is running into Ranma then being surrounded by a bright light. Oh there's Ranma right now,' Akane thought as she slowly regained consciousness.  
  
She tried to get up when a sudden spell of dizziness overtook her making her fall over again only to be caught before she could hit the ground by two strong arms.  
  
"Geez, you clumsy tomboy. Look what you got us into. Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while until we figure out a way out of here."  
  
Still recovering from her dizzy spell she didn't register what Ranma said saving him from another malletting. Lying in Ranma's arm she suddenly was overtaken by sleepiness. Unable to overcome it she fell asleep.  
  
*****  
  
As Ranma looked at Akane sleeping in his arms he felt a tingle spread throughout his body. This was when he noticed something dripping through his fingers. As he maneuvered Akane to hold her in one arm he looked at his hand. It was covered in blood. He quickly looked at Akane and found a cut on the backside of her head.  
  
'Oh my God!'  
  
"Help! Someone help me. My fiancé's hurt! Someone get a doctor. Please hurry!" he yelled to people around him.  
  
Some people ran to get help while others just stared at the strangely dressed couple they had encountered. A strangely familiar man came running out to help the two. He had brown hair and was wearing glasses. He reached the two when the young man yelled out his name. This of course was very strange considering that he had never seen the young boy in his life. Nevertheless he told the boy to follow him to his clinic, which happened to be close by. In a matter of minutes he had patched up the young lady, who had received a minor cut that happened to only look bad. She would be fine a day or two. This was when he decided to ask the man how he had known him.  
  
"So what's your name young man? Also how on earth did you know who I was? I'm pretty sure I know everyone in this town," asked the doctor.  
  
"Huh? You don't know me? Come on doc, its me, Ranma. Are you sure you don't know me, and when did you change your clinic? It looks… older," Ranma stated.  
  
"I'm fairly sure I don't know who you are Ranma. I've been working here for a long time, almost ten years now so I don't see why you would think I moved…" said the doctor.  
  
'Huh? Why doesn't doc remember me? Wait a minute he doesn't look exactly like the Tofu I know. He looks older. Maybe even twenty years older. Man he looks exactly like him. Well I guess I can ask him some questions since Akane seems to be doing alright.'  
  
"Umm… well… can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Umm… what year is it and where am I?"  
  
Tofu looked at him strangely as if considering if he had heard right.  
  
"Well today would be August 4, 1653 and you happen to be in a small town on the outskirts of Edo. Why do you ask?"  
  
"1653… damn… umm just wondering 'cause… umm… well we were just traveling and we sort of got lost for a while… and we lost track of time… heh… heh… yeah… that's all," Ranma stuttered nervously.  
  
'Man, we are definitely not in Nerima anymore. Damn I wish I listened during history class more often. Argh! Well I can't do anything until Akane wakes up. Man is she gonna flip when I tell her this.'  
  
With this settled Ranma asked the newly acquainted Dr. Tofu and asked if he could go to sleep in the chair next to Akane. Being the nice man he was he let Ranma do as he asked. Ranma was asleep before he could change his mind so he left the two and went back to his other regular patients. He would have to ask the two where they were from in the morning because he had never seen clothes like the ones they were wearing.  
  
Author's note: For all purposes of this story I have made it so that Ranma and Akane will not age a day under the influence of the Nanban mirror. This means that when they return to their time they will not have aged at all. Hope you like this idea. Please R&R. I really want to hear how you think of it. Please no flames though. 


	2. Adjusting

Chapter two: Adjusting  
  
Akane awoke with a throbbing pain in the back of her head. She got up and felt the back of her head to find it wrapped up in bandages. As she became fully awake she looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She began to get worried when she found Ranma sleeping peacefully next to her in the chair. He looked so calm and at ease. It was so unlike when he was awake, so full of tension and stress. She had noticed it sometimes when Ranma was by himself thinking. She had seen the lines of stress work their way through his face. But now he looked just like any other teenage boy sleeping and dreaming about nothing and everything. It was so nice to just sit there in the calm atmosphere when she heard a sound near the door of their room. She tried to get up but found she was too dizzy so she opted to just stay there and try to wake Ranma up. Of course this being Ranma nothing she did worked. This was when Dr. Tofu decided to walk in the door.  
  
"Oh, you're awake now aren't you? So how are you feeling?" he asked.  
  
"Huh? Umm… I'm doing ok I guess but I still feel a little dizzy. What happened to me?" she asked a little uneasily.  
  
"You were involved in some kind of accident I think. When I arrived at the scene all I saw was Ranma cradling you in his arms yelling at people to get help. You should thank him. I was quite surprised to see someone yelling so loudly in the middle of the street. You should be feeling fine later today after you eat some food. Now I wanted to ask you two some questions, but it seems your fiancée isn't up to doing anything at the moment so I'll come in later. You should rest a little more and I'll bring in some food for both of you."  
  
"Thank you so much Dr. Tofu!" Akane blurted out.  
  
She had been quite flustered after Tofu had told her about what Ranma had done causing her to blurt out quite rudely.  
  
"Umm… how did you know who I was? You're fiancée knew who I was too. I hope you two have a good explanation for this," stated Tofu a little sternly.  
  
"Huh? Don't you know who I am? It's me, Akane and why are you calling Ranma my fiancée? You never did that before," she said.  
  
"I'm sorry Akane but I'm pretty sure I don't know either of you and why wouldn't I call Ranma your fiancée. He was screaming it loud enough to the people around him. I hope you two can give me some kind of explanation later. For now you need your rest. I'll talk to you two later," stated Tofu.  
  
'What's going on here? How come Tofu doesn't recognize me? What's happened? Oooooooo, Ranma better have an explanation for me when he wakes up,' Akane thought, silently fuming at Ranma.  
  
However she decided to let Ranma rest for a little while longer after she had heard that Ranma had actually acknowledged she was his fiancée. It was something Ranma didn't do very often at all. About ten minutes went by though Akane couldn't wait any longer and hit Ranma on the head with her trusty mallet. Of course since she was still felling nice she used one of her smaller ones. Ranma decided to wake up at that exact moment and looked up to see a small mallet approach his face and hit him square on the nose.  
  
"OUCH! What the hell did you do that for you stupid tomboy?!?! That hurt!"  
  
" Well it's about time you woke up. You have some serious explaining to do mister and I am not waiting a second longer."  
  
"What are you talking abou… Oh right… heh… well we sort of… umm… transported back in time and… I think it's like 1653 or something and we're sort of… well stuck here because the stupid mirror broke," he answered nervously.  
  
"You used the Nanban mirror?!? It's broken?! What were you thinking?" yelled Akane.  
  
"Well I was trying to get away from everyone when you had to bust down the door and run into me. I'm not the one that dragged you into the past but it looks like we're gonna be stuck here cause the mirror was broken when we got here"  
  
"How can you do this to me. I don't want to be stuck here…" yelled Akane when a surge of pain shot through her head causing her to lose her balance and fall off her bed.  
  
In a moments notice though Ranma was at her side, catching her out of the air and holding her in his arms. Of course being Ranma and Akane this was when Dr. Tofu decided to enter.  
  
"Oh my… I'm sorry to interrupt anything."  
  
Needless to say Ranma and Akane faces looked like they were going to explode from the blood rushing to their heads. Ranma gently placed Akane back to her bed and quietly yet quickly sat down again.  
  
"Well, at least you two are fiancées or else I might have had to say something. Anyways I need to ask you two some questions."  
  
"Wait a minute! Can you stop calling him my fiancée? It was just something that our parents made us do!" yelled Akane.  
  
"Well Ranma doesn't seem to mind? In fact it seemed as if he's accepted it like he should have," stated Tofu albeit a little confusedly.  
  
Ranma abruptly turned bright red. He tried to stammer a denial but was stopped when he glanced at Akane who seemed to be turning a nice shade of red as well.  
  
'Damn. I probably embarrassed her a bunch. I'm so stupid. She's probably gonna hate me now…' thought Ranma become slightly depressed.  
  
'Look at Ranma blush. He must be embarrassed. He wouldn't be embarrassed unless… maybe he does care about me a little,' Akane thought silently, seemingly glowing from her thoughts.  
  
"Anyways, what I wanted to ask you two was how you knew me. I'm pretty sure I know everyone in this village and I've never seen you two in my life and from the looks of it you two are definitely not from around here."  
  
"Umm… we're umm just travelers that were umm… looking for new places to study martial arts. Both of us are martial artists," stated Ranma slowly.  
  
Akane seemed to glow even more when she heard Ranma mention that she was a martial artist as well.  
  
" Well, I've never seen clothes like the ones you two are wearing. It might attract some unwanted attention to you two if you were out there so I went took liberty to get you two some different clothes that will not attract any attention. No sense in getting in trouble over something as trivial as clothing. I'll allow you two to stay here for a while to change but I'll be back in a while. I have some other appointments I have to attend to right now. I'll talk to you two later. Oh, and feel free to ask for anything at any time," finished Tofu getting up from the chair he was sitting on and placing the two kimonos on the table. With that he left the room and closed the door. Ranma and Akane just sat there for a few seconds when Ranma spoke up.  
  
"Akane, the guy that was in this room is not the Dr. Tofu we know back home. He just happens to look a lot like him. He might even be some kind of ancestor of his or something. Anyways, he has no idea who we are so don't go blurting out that we know him. We probably freak him out already. Umm… and… well, I'm s-s-sorry about calling you my fiancée. You probably didn't want to deal with that right now. Anyways here's your kimono. We might as well umm change into them."  
  
Akane was having a hard time dealing with this seemingly nicer version of Ranma. When he mentioned changing she immediately took offense and reverted back to her old ways and yelled at him. Being angry with Ranma was familiar territory. Being shy and mushy was definitely not.  
  
"You think I'm going to change in here with YOU in the room at the same time you pervert!"  
  
"Hey! Its not like I'd look at you. I mean who would want to look at a sexless…"  
  
"CRACK!"  
  
"Hmph, he didn't have to go and make fun of me. Baka. Oh well, I might as well change while he's out cold," sighed Akane as she put the slightly cracked chair back on the ground.  
  
*****  
  
About ten minutes later Ranma woke up to the sight of Akane sitting on the bed fully dressed in a dark blue kimono with flower petals spotted all over it. She had her eyes closed and it seemed as if she was thinking about something.  
  
'K-k-kawaii… she really is cute… no more like beautiful but the baka that I am I had to go and say something stupid again. I didn't even mean to say it. It just came out like it was the normal thing to say. Why am I so stupid? Well, I might as well change into my kimono while she's occupied,' thought Ranma.  
  
He quickly changed into his kimono, which happened to match Akane's, before Akane could open her eyes and see what was happening. As soon as he finished he just sat on the chair in the room and stared at Akane. It wasn't by choice, it just kind of happened. There was nothing else to do and soon enough he was completely off in his own world looking at Akane. Of course this was when Akane decided to open her eyes only to find herself drowning in the deep blue eyes of Ranma's. Ranma of course continued staring at Akane. They stayed like this for about ten seconds when they realized what they were doing and quickly looked at the floor, both turning a bright shade of red.  
  
"Umm… so… what do you think we should … umm… do?" asked Ranma softly.  
  
"Well… I'm not really sure. We don't really know anything about where we are so we're just going to have to stay put for a little while I guess. Oh yeah, and why were you using the Nanban mirror anyways. It's all your fault that we got in this mess you know."  
  
"Hey! I didn't ask for you to come along now did I? I just wanted to get away from everything. It was all starting to wear me out."  
  
"E-everything? Even… me…?"  
  
"Well… umm… look I needed some time by myself and well…" started Ranma when his horrid foot in mouth disease decided to rear its ugly head. "It's not like you made it any easier for me anyways! What does it matter if I included you too? You never gave so much as a damn about me before! I needed to get away or else I would have gone crazy ok!" snapped Ranma.  
  
"Oh ok… I understand… I'm sooo sorry I'm nothing but a nuisance…" started Akane when a tear fell down her cheek.  
  
'Damn it Ranma! Why do you always do this to me? I don't want to fall to pieces because of you. I have to be tough. I can't care that much… can I? Damn it! Why do you do this to me?!"  
  
"Hey, don't cry… hey… I'm sorry! I didn't mean that. Come on. Just don't cry. Please!" stammered Ranma at the sight of the single tear.  
  
He got up and started shaking Akane lightly when she burst out crying. Tears ran freely down her face as she just sat on the bed. Ranma just stared at her. He felt worse and worse as what she sat there crying her eyes out.  
  
'Oh man… what do I do? Umm… damn it! I wish I knew how to comfort someone! Umm… I think Kasumi mentioned something about hugging them will make them feel better or something…'  
  
With only the thought of making Akane feel better he slowly wrapped his arms around her and softly asked her to stop crying. Akane just latched right onto Ranma and cried into his new kimono. Ranma made no sudden movements and just held her until she slowed down. Eventually it seemed like she stopped. Ranma looked down at Akane to find her sleeping in his arms. He adjusted himself to get into a better position. Ranma had a sudden urge to just stay like that with her in his arms. She felt so warm and it was just so… right. There was no other way to put it. He just felt right with Akane in his arms. Her warmth coupled with the emotional stress of everything up to that point caused him to fall asleep with Akane in his arms. Tofu had come in the door once to check on them when he had heard screaming only to find the two sleeping in each other's arms. He looked at them for a second and slowly made his way out of the room with a smile on his face, allowing the two to have their privacy, something they had never had during their time together in Nerima. It was a time of true contentment for the two as they dreamed of each other.  
  
  
  
Author's notes: A little waffy at the end. Well, really waffy. I just felt like writing something cute like this. Anyways, more stuff to come as they discover new things about their new time period and maybe even meet up another familiar face… Hope you like it so far. PLEASE R&R lots!! In this fic please tell me if I happen to screw something up like something that deals with the history of the time. If I did please tell me so I can change it! I hope the characters aren't too OOC. Anyways, thanks so much for reading this stuff! * Very minor change! Took out the line about too young to be engaged.* 


	3. Another Time, Another Place

Chapter three: Another Time, Another Place  
  
Akane dreamt about all kinds of things as she slept. Sometimes she had nightmares while other times she dreamt of the best things. However, her latest dream had to have been one of the best ones she had had in a long time. She couldn't remember the details but the raw emotions that she had experienced in the dream had stayed with her. It had started off sad and gloomy only to change into one of pure bliss and contentment. She felt completely safe in her dream. It was as if nothing could touch her. She didn't want to wake up but something was bugging her. Something was different. She slowly opened her eyes to see what was causing this difference. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't on her bed. For that matter, the room looked nothing like her room. Then she realized she wasn't even on a bed. Then she felt the strong arms encompassing her body cradling her gently yet firmly, as if to show that she was protected. As she looked up to see who it was she was astounded to see Ranma with a blissful smile adorning his face. For the first time she saw something on his face that she had never seen before. It was a look of pure joy and maybe even contentment. She felt so safe and happy that she just stayed there. She loved the way that she was held. It made her fell so important. This was when she remembered everything that had happened the night before. The mean things he had said, then the wonderful way he had comforted her, apologizing at the same time. She had been so happy. As she lay there she looked up to see Ranma staring at her with his eyes showing another emotion that she had longed to see for a long time. Love.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma had dreamed of things much like Akane. His dreams had even been quite similar to Akane's. He had experienced emotions much like Akane's, not that he knew that. Ranma however, had remembered some details from his dream. He had been back in the dojo. He had just awakened to hear what sounded like children running and yelling. He had gotten up to see what was going on when a little red haired girl had jumped up at him, hugging him with a force rivaling some grown men. She had been screaming one word the entire time, yet it had been enough to bring Ranma to a stop. It had been daddy. She was screaming daddy. To him. That meant that he was the father of this child. This beautiful child that reminded him of his girl half. As he hugged the girl back stroking her hair he had noticed another figure leaning against the wall smiling. It was the same smile that had brought Ranma to his knees countless times before. The one smile that only she could smile. Akane. That meant that she had married him and that this child was their daughter. Ranma could do nothing except smile back. It had been the most wonderful dream he had ever had coupled with the security he felt from having Akane in his arms at the same time he had had an enjoyable night. (Not like that you perverts!) He was awakened from the stirring Akane caused. He had looked down at her with absolute love in his eyes, caused by the dream he had had during the night, only to stare right into her beautiful brown eyes. They just stared at each other when they realized what they were doing. Akane reacted first by blushing bright red. Ranma seeing her blush immediately placed her on the bed and scooted over so they wouldn't be touching yet still close enough to feel the heat emanating from the other person. Both sat in silence, unable to say a word because of their embarrassment. Luckily they didn't have to as Tofu decided to walk in at that moment. He walked in and could almost feel the aura radiating from the two. Being one experienced in auras he could feel the different emotions raging in their auras. Surprise, embarrassment, and even a little worry shot out towards him. Yet overlapping all of it was the single emotion of love. The amount of care they felt for each other was astounding. It was as if they were made for each other, like soul mates. Tofu smiled as he also realized they weren't sure how the other felt causing their worry.  
  
'What an interesting pair of people I've stumbled upon. One moment they're fighting tooth and nail and the next they seem to be deeply in love with each other. They both seem to be extremely strong as well. I wonder what other kinds of secrets these two hold,'  
  
"Well I see that both of you are awake. I imagine you had a nice rest," stated Tofu smiling as he saw the two become even redder. "I have breakfast ready for both of you downstairs. I'm sure you must be famished."  
  
"Umm… thank you so much for housing us. We're really sorry about having to bother you so much. I hope you forgive me for thinking that I knew you. It was just that you looked like someone I knew," stammered Akane, who had been forcibly trying to make her remember that this was not the Dr. Tofu that she knew.  
  
"I accept your apology but who else has the same name that I do? Which Tofu did you think I looked like? Was it Takeda? Or maybe it was Hiroshi. They always said we looked like each other. Hahaha," laughed Tofu to what seemed to be an inside joke.  
  
"Oh! It was Hiroshi Tofu. That's who I thought you were. You two look so familiar that I just kind of blurted it out. I'm so sorry if I offended you somehow," said Akane.  
  
"Haha, there's no reason to apologize. It was an honest mistake. So how is Hiroshi doing?"  
  
"Umm… well we haven't seen him in a while. We got lost for a while looking for a place to train," answered Ranma with an unexpected case of careful talking.  
  
"Well let's go downstairs and eat. We don't have too much but I hope you enjoy it."  
  
The three entered the dining room and sat down to eat. Ranma immediately began vacuuming the food into his mouth when he say Akane glare at him. He slowed down a bit, just enough to see his hands blur by slowly. Tofu watched amazed that someone could move so fast. What he didn't know was that this was pretty slow for Ranma.  
  
'Geez! What is this kid? I've never seen anyone move this fast! That's incredible! I'll have to ask him to show me how good he is. I haven't done any training in a while and I need to brush up a bit. He might be able to help me out,' thought Tofu as he stared at Ranma eat.  
  
"Ranma, I have a question to ask you. Would you like to train with me later?"  
  
"Sure I'd love too!" answered Ranma.  
  
Akane just sat there in a moment of wisdom remembering something about the different customs that were followed during this time. No matter how hard, she was determined to look like the perfect fiancée as long as she was here. There was no sense in getting in trouble over something stupid like training. She would give Ranma that much after that look he had given her. It still made her tingle inside. She would just beat up Ranma for anything stupid he did when they got home.  
  
'Actually that when might be an if. We have no idea what happened to the mirror. I can't believe Ranma left it where it was,' thought Akane.  
  
She had asked Ranma what had happened to the mirror when they had walked downstairs. Ranma had hit himself in the head and groaned mumbling something about being stupid and leaving it outside. Ranma had said he would go look for it after breakfast. Sure enough as soon as he had finished eating he had gotten up and ran out the door telling Tofu he had to go outside to look for something only to run into a young girl with long brown hair.  
  
"Oh man. I'm so sorry miss! Umm… are you all righ… HUH?!" stopped Ranma.  
  
Akane ran towards the door to see what had happened only to some face to face with a girl about her age that looked exactly like Ukyo. She had to force herself to remember that Ukyo could not be here and that this was someone else. As she glanced at Ranma she realized he was not quite as successful. She needed to say something fast or Ranma would say something to ruin everything.  
  
"Oh! Are you ok? I hope so…" started Akane when she spotted something reflecting light in her hand. "Is that our mirror? You found it!"  
  
"Oh, this thing. Well I found it yesterday after you two ran off. I gathered the pieces and tried to place them together. My father managed to put them together with some kind of sticky substance. I'm so sorry about coming unannounced like this…" the Ukyo look alike stammered.  
  
"It's not a problem Kuonji-san. You're always welcome here. How is your father doing?"  
  
"Oh he's doing very well Tofu-dono. Thank you for asking," replied Kuonji. "Well I have to get going. It was nice meeting you all. I hope to see you again. Good-bye."  
  
With that she left with what seemed to be blush creeping up on her face. This might have been completely imagined as no one really had a god look of her face as she was turning around.  
  
"The mirror. We got the mirror back and its kind of fixed. We might be able to get back Akane!"  
  
"What's so special about that mirror Ranma?" asked Tofu, curious as to what was so special about it.  
  
"Huh? It's just something that's umm, important to my family. That's all," replied Akane.  
  
"Oh, it's a family heirloom. Well it's a good thing you found it. Well I have to go attend to my patients. I'll talk to you two later and we can train later Ranma. In the meantime why don't you two go explore town a little. You must be cramped up in here," and with that he left.  
  
Akane sighed over getting away with her little lie.  
  
"So what do we do now? We have the mirror. We can just go back now can't we?" asked Akane.  
  
Ranma seemed to be thinking thoughtfully when he started speaking.  
  
"I kind of want to stay here for a little while longer. Let's kick back for a while. Think of it as a little vacation from our problems. We can go back anytime. What do you say?"  
  
After about a second of contemplating Akane nodded her head. Getting away from everyone would be nice, especially if she got to stay with this seemingly nicer and gentler Ranma. She would even get to explore ancient Japan. She might as well take advantage of it. Ranma, upon seeing her nod, ran upstairs and placed the mirror with his clothes and ran back downstairs. He grabbed Akane's hand and ran out the door dragging Akane with him.  
  
*****  
  
The two returned to Tofu's clinic around noon. They found Tofu treating an old lady that looked strangely familiar. (For those that are wondering, just imagine an old lady with a ladle splashing the sidewalk. Maybe even splashing a boy who turns into a girl every time the water touches him. This is the person she looks like. Just thought you'd like to know!) As soon as Tofu was finished he joined the two for lunch, which they had received during the day. Both seemed to be quite happy, from what, Tofu had no idea. After lunch all three went to the back. Ranma had changed back into his old clothes because the back was a concealed area that people couldn't get to except from the front. Tofu had changed into some old clothes that allowed more movement and freedom. The two began to stretch. Akane just sat on the porch and watched the two. Finishing early, Ranma began to go through one of the katas he knew. The kata was one that had an emphasis on offense. It was one of the beginner's katas that Ranma had improvised to incorporate some of his more advanced techniques. As he went through it he steadily went faster and faster until he was at a high enough speed. It was like watching lightning ripping through the air. Every punch and kick lashed out with incredible speed and power along with perfect control. Tofu watched in awe as Ranma went through the air seemingly defying gravity. It was like watching art in motion. Suddenly Ranma stopped dead in a fighting stance. He stayed there for a moment when Tofu broke out clapping.  
  
"That was incredible! When did you learn that kind of stuff? I've never seen anything so great! You must have mastered at least three different styles to do that kata. I know I saw at least three styles mixed throughout that kata, however the kata itself is not one that I recognize. Where did you learn all of that?"  
  
"Umm… well I've been doing it all my life. I learned a lot from my dad," started Ranma when scream interrupted them.  
  
"What was that?" yelled Tofu as he ran to the front of the clinic to see what had happened.  
  
A large, bald man was in front of the clinic arguing with a woman. When a Tofu arrived he saw the man hit the women in the face. She fell onto the ground crying from the pain. She looked as if she had been hit before. Tofu immediately placed himself between the man and the women.  
  
"SAOTOME! What are you doing?! I will not permit violence in front of my clinic!" yelled Tofu.  
  
"Shut up Tofu! This woman is driving me crazy! She won't listen to me at all! I've had it with her! Now move so I can punish her!" retorted the larger man.  
  
Ranma and Akane had arrived soon after Tofu and had been watching. Ranma had been stunned when Tofu had yelled out Saotome. It made him freeze. The man he was looking at bore a strange resemblance to his father. He realized instantly that it was his ancestor. Ranma was stunned at the violence towards the woman he was showing. It angered him. Actually, it down right pissed him off. It was showing as a bright red aura enveloped his body. Akane backed away feeling the anger. She had never seen Ranma this angry. She had no idea why he was acting this way. All she knew was that Ranma was shooting a glare at his ancestor that could melt steel. When the man struck Tofu with the back of his hand Ranma snapped. A large crowd had gathered by now. Before anyone could blink Ranma was in front of the man with his face right in the older man's face.  
  
"What the fuck do you think you're doing old man?! You have no right to hit her or Doc! I can't believe you're a Saotome! No Saotome would ever hurt a girl who couldn't defend herself! You're such a disgrace! I challenge you, you big fool!" yelled Ranma into his face.  
  
With that he stopped talking and backed away just as quickly as he had approached him. He immediately dropped into a fighting stance. When the older man saw this he adopted a fighting stance of his own. Recognizing the stance, Ranma realized that the man would not be just some drunken old man. Ranma realized that he was facing off against a skilled fighter. How skilled he was would be discovered in the next few seconds. The old man decided to attack first leading off with a combination of high kicks and punches. Ranma reacted with the speed born of the Amaguriken. Realizing the man wasn't nearly as skilled as he was Ranma commenced his own attack. He quickly got through the man's defenses and hit him hard in the gut about fifty times with his fists, breaking at least three ribs. While the man was doubled over he did a back flip, kicking him in the face at the same time. Before the man could fall down Ranma was behind him. He delivered a hard jumping roundhouse to the shoulder, dislocating it. He allowed the man to fall this time, and he fell hard.  
  
"You will never, ever hit a woman out of anger ever again! Do you hear me! You ever do and I find out I'll beat you to an inch of your life you worthless piece of scum," spat Ranma.  
  
The elder Saotome however was in no shape to be listening to anything and so just lay there. The crowd backed away as they saw Ranma walk away from the man to the woman. He knelt down and helped the woman up. He gently asked if she was all right. When she answered that she was fine he helped Tofu get up and then quietly walked back into the clinic. As he left, the crowd murmured amongst them. This young boy had just beaten the stuffing out of the town's strongest fighter. Not that they weren't grateful. Tenma Saotome had been a ruthless man. The town had had numerous problems caused by him and they had also seen him beat his wife dozens of times but none had dared stop him because of his tremendous strength. Until now that is. First it was Tofu, then the mysterious young boy. Everyone was shocked to say the least. In their shock Akane ran into the house to find Ranma. While no one else had noticed Akane had looked into Ranma's eyes the instant he had turned around. She had seen the pain and sorrow etched into them. It had been heart wrenching. When she found no one in the living room she ran to their room. Ranma was cuddled up in the corner with his arms around his legs. She watched horrified as she saw Ranma's back shaking. She ran up to him and hugged him from the back. She heard him choking back tears.  
  
"It's ok Ranma. You did the right thing," Akane said trying to clam him down.  
  
"You don't understand Akane. I just hit my ancestor. Someone I'm related to! Some stupid bastard who doesn't know any honor! Is my family all like this? Oh Gods, I hope not. I was brought up to do nothing but honorable things. That might sound funny knowing pops but it's the truth. He was always yelling at me to be honorable. Why the hell is there someone like that scum out there part of my family? WHY?!" cried Ranma  
  
"Ranma, you're not bad just because one of your ancestors are bad. Don't worry about it. You didn't turn out like him and you'll never be like him. You're the most honorable person I know Ranma," soothed Akane.  
  
"You still don't get it. It felt like I was hitting my own father. He looked just like him. I attacked him out of anger. I can't believe what I did. Pops was always saying I should never attack without control. I lost it out there. I don't know what happened. It was like I saw myself as that guy and you were the lady. It made me feel so horrible. God I feel terrible…"  
  
"SLAP!"  
  
Ranma just stared at Akane. She withdrew her hand from his face then looked at him.  
  
"Listen to me! You did nothing wrong. It was his entire fault. You were just protecting his wife. How is that wrong? You will never be like that. I've seen how you act and I know you would never hit me ever. Even if I ask you…" she said with a hint of anger. "Please don't blame yourself for any of this. Look, Ranma, I think it's about time we left this place. It doesn't seem like you'll find any peace here anymore. Lets get away from here. Let's go back home, together."  
  
Ranma stared at Akane for a while just gazing at her. He had heard the edge to her voice when she had mentioned hitting her. She always wanted him to treat her like a true martial artist. Didn't she realize that she didn't need to do anything? He would always protect her. As he looked at her everything that had happened between them flashed through his mind. All the times that he couldn't protect her. He realized he had to train her. Akane had been with him through everything. He had almost lost her so many times yet here she was, with him encouraging him. He wanted to stay with her forever. He wanted to keep the feeling that he felt in his chest forever. What was that feeling? Oh yeah. It was love. His love for her. But did she love him? As Ranma sat there Akane retrieved their clothes and the mirror. She quickly scrawled a note and sat down in front of Ranma again. She grabbed Ranma's hand and placed the mirror under his face. This was when Ranma made up his mind and risked everything by saying something she thought she would never hear. Three words that would change everything between them. Once this line was crossed there was no going back. Even knowing this Ranma crossed the line.  
  
"I love you."  
  
Before Akane could respond a tear fell from Ranma's face and splashed onto the mirror. The mirror, however, being cracked caused the tear to separate into little rivulets on the mirror. In a flash the two were gone. The only reminder was the note that had been placed on the shelf.  
  
"Thank you so much for the hospitality. Best wishes to you. Good-bye. –Ranma and Akane-"  
  
  
  
Author's notes: I'm sorry if everyone thought that the 1653 was something significant. It was just a plot device to get the two away from everyone. I hope you all won't get too angry. I also realize the characters are really OOC. I hope it's not too bad. What will happen in the next chapter? I might even include a little crossover with a certain cross-scarred rurouni if I get enough reviews for it so please R&R lots! No flames please! 


	4. Enter the Cross-Scarred Rurouni!

Disclaimer: In addition to Ranma ½, Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. It belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro. Please don't sue me because even if you do you won't get anything 'cause I'm dirt poor!  
  
Chapter four: Enter the Cross-Scarred Rurouni!  
  
It had been little over a week had passed since they had all returned home to Tokyo. Sano had been lounging around the dojo lately with nothing to do. His hand had been healing slowly. Kaoru had been happier than ever lately, except of course when Yahiko bugged her. Everything had been so peaceful after the fight. After everything they had gone through in Kyoto, it was all over. Shishio had been defeated and everyone had made it out alive. They might finally have some peace and quiet for a while. Well this was what Kenshin hoped for. However, it seemed the gods were in a playful mood at the moment and having a peaceful and relaxing time was not on the agenda. The gods in fact had figured out the perfect plan to spice things up for everyone. Something that would throw everything off. All it took was a cracked mirror and two unsuspecting individuals mixed up with a little godly magic. Oh yes. Life was certainly going to become much more interesting for everyone involved and the gods would sit back and have some entertainment to amuse themselves with. If only they had remembered where the popcorn was…  
  
*****  
  
It had been a hot all day long. Kaoru had been teaching Yahiko while Sano had watched from the backgrounds. Kenshin had gone shopping for a bucket of tofu. He had just entered the shopping area when he heard a commotion in the alley behind him. He turned around to see what the noise was all about to find two young girls dressed in very old kimonos and holding what looked to be a bundle of clothing and a mirror frame. They were surrounded by a group of thugs who looked as if they had impure motives as to why they were surrounding the girls. Kenshin gripped his sakabatou and strode forward. He was about to speak when the red haired girl spoke out in a loud voice.  
  
"You guys better get the hell out of my face before I beat the shit out of all of you! I am NOT in the mood to put of with your crap right now!" screamed the redhead.  
  
"Ranma, let me take care of this. I want to start my training so you can see how I do and spot me," stated the other girl happily.  
  
"Hmm… that sounds like a good idea. Go for it Akane. Just don't kill them. They don't know any better," relented the red head.  
  
"Oh, thank you so much!" yelled the raven-haired girl.  
  
Kenshin was totally confused by this point. It was as if the raven-haired girl was happy that they had been attacked. The two probably had no idea what they were dealing with. They possibly were a pair of tomboys from the country where they had had the boys under their control. If that were so, then they would be in a lot of trouble as soon as the fight began. They seemed almost too cocky. There was no way the two cute girls before him were good enough to take on seven full grown men at once. When the raven- haired girl jumped up and hugged the red head he thought he realized the girls were definitely in a lot trouble. He once again grabbed his sakabatou when the girl moved. It would have been an understatement to say that Kenshin was completely stunned.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma and Akane had been walking for about an hour since they had been transported to this time period. It had taken them a few seconds to realize they were still not home when they saw the clothing of the people walking by them. They had been completely confused as to why they were not at home. They had taken a look at the mirror only to find the glass part of the mirror completely gone. It was like it had just disappeared. All they had been left with was the frame of the once magical mirror. They had been looking around for shelter for about ten minutes when a freak rainstorm struck drenching them both. The now female Ranma angrily kicked the tree next to him. The unlucky tree promptly snapped in half causing a loud noise. The two had run as fast as they could into the town. They had hid in the alley to get away from the crowd. This had been when seven men had followed them into the alley. Ranma, seeing their eyes, knew exactly what they wanted and became very agitated.  
  
"You guys better get the hell out of my face before I beat the shit out of all of you! I am NOT in the mood to put of with your crap right now!"  
  
'Damn it! Why the hell do these bozos have to bother us right now?! I'm so sick and tired of this. Stupid mirror can't even work right…' when his thoughts were interrupted by Akane.  
  
"Ranma, let me take care of this. I want to start my training so you can see how I do and spot me," stated Akane hopefully.  
  
'I really want to show Ranma how god I am. I really hope Ranma takes me seriously from now on. I still can't believe everything we talked about. It still makes my feel so happy!'  
  
*Flashback*  
  
Ranma and Akane had landed in an open area. A street was about five minutes away from them. As the two got up and sat down in front of each other they just stared. Akane had just heard something completely unexpected. She remembered the way Ranma said those words. They had been so full of love that there had been no question whether it was true or not. As she remembered tears formed in her eyes. They slowly fell marking paths on her cheeks. Ranma had been completely startled when Akane started crying. Only one thought kept going through his mind.  
  
'She hates me. She hates me. She hates me…'  
  
Seeing her cry had shattered the confidence he had had moments before. His life suddenly meant nothing as thoughts of a life without Akane raced through his mind. His only thought was to make her stop crying.  
  
"Oh god. Please stop crying! I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to make you cry. Please sto…" when he was stopped by Akane, who placed her right index finger on his mouth.  
  
"Don't say another word. Please just stop because, I love you too Ranma. I love you so much it hurts. I can't believe you love me too. Oh God, you've made me so happy…" where Akane hugged Ranma and cried into his shirt.  
  
Ranma held onto Akane for a moment, happier than he had ever been in his entire life, then lifted her head up and slowly kissed her on the mouth. Akane, who had been completely caught up in the moment responded immediately. The kiss went on for about three minutes as they put all their emotion into it. Coupled with all their feelings they had kept hidden, the kiss had been incredible. Reluctantly the two had separated and gazed at each other with absolute love in their eyes. Ranma broke the silence first by announcing something that made Akane's already perfect moment even better.  
  
"Umm… Akane… I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry for everything that I've ever done to you. I also want to tell you that I've decided that I'm finally going to start training you. I mean really train you. I really do think that you could become truly great if you trained hard enough. I want you to be strong enough to be able to defend yourself if you need to but I also want you to know that I will always try to be there to protect you from everything…"  
  
Anything more that Ranma would have said was cut off as Akane gave him a glomp beyond glomps. The force put any other glomp ever made to shame. It knocked Ranma over and the two had rolled down a hill only to notice people walking by at a distance. The two just lay there for a few minutes in each other's arms, then got up and dusted themselves off. Ranma took hold of Akane's hand and started walking. When Akane gave him a questioning look he merely smiled and replied, "We need to go look for shelter. I don't think we're home yet and this mirror has completely disappeared or something. Now come on," and after a short pause he added, "my cute fiancée." Akane had immediately blushed red and followed Ranma with her fingers entwined with his.  
  
*End of Flashback*  
  
'I can't believe Ranma said all of that. It still makes me feel all giddy inside!' thought Akane.  
  
"Hmm… that sounds like a good idea. Go for it Akane. Just don't kill them. They don't know any better,"  
  
"Oh, thank you so much!" yelled Akane while hugging Ranma, momentarily forgetting that they were both girls.  
  
Akane let go of Ranma and faced the attackers. She immediately dropped into a basic fighting stance that allowed good offense and good defense. As she looked at her opponents she targeted whom she thought were the weakest, then she flew at them at high speed. She threw a high-powered punch at the guy closest to her. As he crumpled over she turned and did a spinning back fist at the next guy. Hearing it connect she immediately turned her attention to the third guy she had targeted. Seeing the first two get hit the third was more ready as he had enough time to put up an ample defense. However, his ample defense against Akane was nothing more than lifting his arms to have them broken first. Which of course Akane did by punching the guys arms with as much power as she could, shattering the bones. It was later speculated by Ranma that Akane had used her chi to power up her punch. This of course meant that Akane was much better then he initially realized. The guy immediately fell down screaming in pain. She then turned to the other four, who previously had been too shocked to move. They had all now taken out their swords that they had had concealed in their garments. Seeing that the swords were real Ranma stepped in.  
  
"Good job Akane, but I think I'm going to take over for now 'cause you haven't been trained in weapon against hand fighting. I'll have to teach that to you soon if we're gonna be stuck here for a while. So stand back and watch how I deal with. Oh yeah, and Mr. Swordsman, you don't have to worry about a thing. I got this under control," stated Ranma to first Akane, then Kenshin.  
  
"Oro?! How did she know I was here?" muttered Kenshin to himself.  
  
'I might have underestimated these two a great deal. I hid myself from them and yet she still knew I was here. I wonder how long she knew. The raven- haired girl was also very talented. I wonder about the red head…' thought Kenshin quietly watching.  
  
Moments later he was too stunned to even move.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma had sensed the red-haired samurai for a long time. The little bursts of his aura had already told him that he was definitely someone very talented. He had also realized that he was someone that did not have any evil intentions. Because of that he had left him alone. He looked the four remaining thugs up and down. He realized instantly from their posture that three of them were mere amateurs, not even at Kuno's level of skill. The fourth however seemed to be about as good as the average Kuno so he decided to leave him for last. With that settled he went into action. He was in front of the first guy in a matter of milliseconds. A few milliseconds later he had disarmed the guy and left him unconscious. With even greater speed and accuracy he leapt into the air before anyone could see leaving the remaining three thinking that he had vanished, only to have him descend upon the two lackeys with a double axe kick to the head, rendering them helpless and unconscious. With that finished he turned his attention to who seemed to be the leader of this sorry group of losers. The last guy dashed at Ranma and swung sideways, in an attempt to cut off Ranma's head. Instead of having a decapitated head all he got was air, as Ranma had ducked a fraction of a second before it hit. Realizing this he swung downwards only to miss again and hit solid ground. Then he felt pain shoot through his head before everything went black. Ranma slowly retracted his arm letting it herself calm down for a second. Having done this type of thing almost regularly he did not feel the least bit tired. Then he turned towards Akane.  
  
"I don't think you would learn very much from what I just showed you. I'll have to find another time to show some of the better disarming attacks, kind of like what I did to the first guy," said Ranma.  
  
"Oh! You mean the different places you hit his hands and arms. I'm assuming they were all pressure points, right? I'll probably need to go over those too, 'cause I don't know them very well," replied Akane.  
  
The two continued on with their conversation in the most leisurely way that it boggled Kenshin's mind. The two girls had just been attacked, most likely to be raped, and then they had beaten them all with incredible efficiency. Then to top it all off the two had started talking about how they could have done better as if this had been some kind of training lesson. Kenshin merely stood there stupefied for a moment, then gathered himself and approached the two girls.  
  
"Umm… are you two girls ok?" asked Kenshin feeling very stupid at the moment.  
  
"Huh? Oh you're that samurai that I sensed. Yeah we're fine. As you can see, we can take care of ourselves," Ranma rudely replied.  
  
"Oh, don't mind Ranma, he's just in a grumpy mood. He's really not always this bad," said Akane.  
  
"Huh? He? Did you just call her a guy?" asked Kenshin even more mystified that anyone could mistake the obviously female person in front of him.  
  
"Oh my! My mistake. It's just that… umm… I, uh, get him confused with his twin brother who looks exactly like him. Heh heh…" stuttered Akane.  
  
Ranma merely slapped himself in the head.  
  
"Anyways, we have to go now. It was nice talking to you… umm…" started Akane.  
  
"Kenshin. Himura Kenshin."  
  
"Well, Himura-san, it was nice meeting you. My name's Tendo Akane and this is Saotome Ranma. We need to go now. Bye!" yelled Akane as Ranma started to walk away.  
  
"Yes… it's nice to meet you two as well. I hope that we see each other again. Good-day to you both."  
  
With that Ranma and Akane rounded the corner leaving a still amazed Kenshin in the alley, who had completely forgotten that he needed to buy tofu for dinner that night.  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Next time, the entire Kenshin Gumi meet up with the two time travelers. How will everyone react to them? You'll have to find out next time. I really hope you all enjoy my story. Always R&R! Until next time! 


	5. A New Home

Chapter five: A New Home  
  
Kaoru had been worrying about Kenshin. He had not come home yet when he should have arrived an hour earlier. She had gone to the Akabeko to ask Tae if Kenshin had been around. When she got there she witnessed the strangest thing she had seen in quite a while. It was the new waitresses that Tae had hired during the day. A short red-haired girl and a slightly taller raven- haired girl. The raven-haired girl was nothing out of the ordinary but the redhead was incredible. She was walking down the aisle carrying two dishes in one hand, one with the other, one balanced on her head and another one was being thrown at her by the raven-haired girl, which she caught by quickly placing one of the dishes on a table, kicked up a stray mop on the floor, grabbed the mop with her free hand, then caught the flying plate with the tip of the mop, balancing it. Kaoru found herself applauding the show along with everyone else in the Akabeko. The raven-haired girl merely shook her head then went back to work. The redhead merely blushed a little then went around serving the meals she had in her possession. This was when one of the men, who happened to be a tad bit drunk, decided to holler out some obscene comments. Kaoru became extremely agitated and made her way to the guy when the redhead stopped her. She was about to say something when the redhead spoke.  
  
"Stay out of this. Wouldn't want you to get hurt now would I? You just stand back while I take out the trash."  
  
With that she gently pushed Kaoru back and strode forward to the man. Kaoru was about to the warn the girl that she was in over her head when the girl grabbed the man in the front of his shirt and lifted him over her head and promptly rammed him into the ground. Everyone just stared at the little petite girl lift the full-grown man once again over her head. She walked out the door and threw him outside. The act of throwing a full grown man for someone that size was startling enough but when the man flew a good eight meters everyone became almost frightened of the seemingly harmless girl. As she walked back into the Akabeko tae came out to see what the commotion was all about. Upon seeing her new waitress looking at her feet sheepishly she realized to a certain extent what had happened.  
  
"Ranma, what did I say about throwing the customers out of the restaurant?" asked Tae in a serene voice.  
  
"Umm… well, I'm really sorry but he was saying some pretty nasty stuff and I don't think the other customers appreciated it. I'll try to be more civil next time. Sorry 'bout this," muttered Ranma.  
  
"It's ok. Just try not to do it again. You can go back to work now," replied Tae cheerfully.  
  
"Ok," Ranma said.  
  
"I can't believe you just threw out another customer Ranma!" yelled the raven-haired girl.  
  
"Hey! You would've done the same thing Akane and don't you deny it 'cause I know you would have!" retorted Ranma.  
  
"We'll… I guess so," gave in Akane.  
  
"It doesn't matter Akane. Just get me the next order, ok," answered Ranma quite nicely.  
  
"Ok!" replied Akane, once again happy.  
  
As Kaoru watched the two interact it was as if she was entranced by the amount of life the two produced. It was like seeing two bright balls of energy right next to each other. Seeing them made Kaoru feel a lot better then she had been feeling earlier. It was at that moment that she remembered she had been looking for Kenshin.  
  
"Oh my God! I forgot all about Kenshin! I'll have to go look for him!" yelled Kaoru.  
  
"Huh? You know Kenshin? What do you know? We just saw him about a few minutes ago. He should still be around here. He might be in back helping Tsubame out with the water," stated Akane.  
  
"He's in the back? Why's he here?" asked Kaoru.  
  
"Oh he wanted to help us out after we were attacked. We told him we didn't need any help but he insisted and got us both jobs here. It was really nice of him," replied Akane without missing a beat, miraculously, in throwing dishes out at Ranma.  
  
"You two were attacked?! What happened?" yelled Kaoru, who was quite surprised because the two girls showed no signs of being traumatized from an attack.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Ranma, the one with the red hair, and I beat them up," Akane replied almost too casually, as if it was nothing really that important, which in fact was true considering what Akane went through in her life back in Nerima.  
  
Kaoru on the other hand was completely confused. Not wanting to think about the confusing subject anymore she went to look for Kenshin. She found him helping Tsubame with the water, like Akane had said.  
  
"Oh? Hello Kaoru-dono. What brings you out here?" asked Kenshin.  
  
"It was you! I was worried sick at home so I came looking for you! You were supposed to be home over an hour ago Kenshin! Sano and Yahiko were bugging me to go look for you so we could they could eat dinner. They wouldn't eat anything that I would cook but they won't cook anything for themselves either! Those two should just learn to cook for themselves! Anyways I hear you helped out those new waitresses in the front. What was all that about?" asked Kaoru.  
  
"Well, it ended up being nothing really that important. I just thought I'd help the two out seeing as they looked like they were new in town. That's all Kaoru-dono," replied Kenshin cheerfully.  
  
"Oh. Do they have a place to stay then?" asked Kaoru, suddenly taking interest in the two.  
  
"Umm… I'm not sure. Why don't you ask them," answered Kenshin, wondering the same thing.  
  
"Ok."  
  
With that Kaoru went back into the restaurant to be dazzled again by the incredible feats that Ranma was accomplishing. Currently she was holding four sticks each balancing a plate of food. This was all done while she had a pleasant conversation with Akane. Kaoru approached the two and asked them her question.  
  
"I was wondering if you two have any place to stay in this town?" asked Kaoru.  
  
"Well, not yet but I'm sure we could find an inn to stay at. Why do you ask?" replied Akane.  
  
"Well, I was thinking that if you didn't have anywhere to stay you could come stay at my house. It's really large and two more people wouldn't make a difference. In fact having two more girls with me would make my life easier 'cause I have to live with three boys and no other girls. It would be my pleasure to take you two in," said Kaoru.  
  
When Kaoru mentioned wanting them because she wanted two more girls, Ranma seemed to become momentarily uncomfortable, but Kaoru or Akane didn't notice. So it was no surprise when Akane jumped and hugged Kaoru thanking her for the offer. Ranma merely stood there, after he had served the plates he had been holding, feeling a little uncomfortable.  
  
"Well, whenever you two finish we can all go to my place!" said Kaoru as Kenshin walked in from the back.  
  
"What's happening?" asked Kenshin.  
  
"We just got two new housemates and they're both girls too. Now I don't have to be surrounded by three guys all the time! I'm so happy," yelled Kaoru.  
  
Kenshin merely smiled at Kaoru enjoying the fact that she was in a happy mood. He turned his attention to the two girls and bowed.  
  
"It will be nice having the two of you at the Kamiya dojo," said Kenshin.  
  
At the word dojo Ranma's ears perked up in attention.  
  
"Did you say dojo? That's great! Hey Akane, we'll be able to practice there. This is perfect!" exclaimed Ranma suddenly joining into the happy aura that had been made.  
  
"You two can leave now if you want. The day's almost over anyways. The rest of us can take care of things. You can show up tomorrow in the afternoon. That's when we need the most help anyways," stated Tae suddenly.  
  
"You're the best! We'll see you tomorrow then. I'll bring everyone over to eat lunch!" yelled Kaoru.  
  
"No problem. Good-bye everyone," said Tae as she turned around to get back to work.  
  
"Well, lets get going everyone," said Kaoru, "I'm sure you two must be tired from everything you've been through today."  
  
"Well, not really. We've been through much worse before. Today was kinda relaxing actually," replied Ranma.  
  
"You're right. This is a lot better than what we had to go through to get here. I really like here. We should stick around for a little while. It's not like we have too much of a choice anyways," said Akane.  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru, not understanding the conversation entirely, merely nodded their heads in agreement. As they approached their destination a young boy ran out yelling.  
  
"Hey busu! What took you so long! I'm starving!" he yelled.  
  
"Shut up Yahiko! I offered you food but you refused it so you can wait!" Kaoru retorted.  
  
"Oh, like I want the crap you feed us. No one in their right mind would want to eat that…" started Yahiko when a large mallet appeared out of nowhere and smashed him over the head.  
  
"You shouldn't make fun of Kaoru like that! Cooking is very difficult!" fumed Akane.  
  
Ranma was just on the ground laughing his ass off while Kenshin and Kaoru sweat dropped.  
  
"And what are you laughing about mister?" asked Akane, starting to get ticked off.  
  
"Haha, its so funny… looks like you found a cooking partner Akane… haha!" laughed Ranma oblivious to the pain that was approaching him.  
  
A few seconds later everyone was staring at the crater that Akane had created, with Ranma at ground zero. What stunned everyone was that Ranma merely got up out the crater looking apologetic.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that Akane. Didn't mean to make fun of you like that. But you got to lighten up a bit. It was kind of funny," said Ranma.  
  
"I guess, but don't make fun of my cooking. I really do try hard," whimpered Akane.  
  
"Maybe that's your problem. I think you try too hard. You should have fun when you cook. Don't think of it so as a chore next time you cook," said Ranma, seriously.  
  
"Ok Ranma."  
  
"Well we should get inside. I'm sure Sano's hungry enough to eat a horse," said Kaoru.  
  
Ranma and Akane followed her while Kenshin picked up Yahiko, who was currently incapacitated, and followed suit. Once inside they found Sano lying on the ground as if he was dying.  
  
"Need food… so hungry…" he mumbled.  
  
"Man, what a slob. He should cook his own food sometime," said Kaoru, "You two can go take a bath. It should be warm still and I'll go set up your room. Can you make dinner for this poor slob?" she asked Kenshin while pointing at Sano.  
  
"No problem Kaoru-dono," and with that he walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Thank you so much for the hospitality Kaoru-san," said Akane.  
  
"Just Kaoru will do. Go take your baths now," she said while heading towards the free room.  
  
With that Akane and Ranma went to the bath. As they entered the bath, what they were doing suddenly clicked in their minds. As soon as they realized they both turned beat red and looked at the ground.  
  
"Umm… I'll just wait for you to finish, ok?" said Ranma.  
  
"Uh… sure. No peeking though…" Akane replied.  
  
'Well I don't think I'd mind too much anymore, but well… what am I thinking?!' thought Akane while turning even redder at the thought.  
  
"No problem… heh… yeah… I'll just wait out here," said Ranma who also turning bright red at the thoughts that happened to go through his head.  
  
About ten minutes later Akane came out fully dressed in the new clothes that Kaoru had given her earlier. Ranma went in, after gazing at Akane for a few seconds, and washed herself with some cold water before entering the warm water. As he felt the change he relaxed enjoying being in his right form. He realized that he would have to stay as a girl while here. He then turned his thoughts towards Akane. They had been getting along extraordinarily well lately. He really hoped that it would stay that. He also wondered what they were going to do about the mirror. They had no way of getting back home without it. He sighed loudly, not wanting to think about it anymore. He slowly got up out of the furo. As he stepped out the door opened and Kaoru came in, completely naked with a towel around her head and another one in her hand. One look and she stepped out again and screamed.  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Hehe, sound familiar? How does everyone react to the startling news? Well you'll have to wait till next time. Please R&R lots! Sorry if it's a little short. I'll try to make the next one longer. 


	6. Discovery And A Challenge

Chapter six: Discovery And A Challenge  
  
Everyone had seated themselves around a table in the main room. Kaoru and Kenshin were on one side. Sano and Yahiko sat next to them. Megumi, who had wandered by when Kaoru had screamed sat next to Sano. Ranma, who was currently a guy sat next to Akane while looking extremely self-conscious. Kaoru broke the silence first.  
  
"Who the hell are you?!"  
  
"Umm… well, I'm Ranma Saotome."  
  
"You have the same name as that red haired girl?" Sano asked looking at Ranma with suspicion.  
  
"Well, actually I am that girl," Ranma whispered.  
  
"Umm, could you say that again? I don't think I heard you correctly," Kenshin asked.  
  
"Uh, I said that I am that girl."  
  
"How the hell can you be that girl?" Yahiko blurted out.  
  
"Yeah! That's what I want to know. You some kind of pervert?" Sano asked confused by what was happening.  
  
"Well, actually I have this curse that sort of turns me into a girl, that red-haired girl you saw earlier. It's triggered with cold water and hot water reverses the effects."  
  
"You expect us to believe that? I bet your just some pervert! And what about you Akane? Are you a guy too?" Kaoru asked, getting angry over the seemingly preposterous story.  
  
"Well, actually I'm a real girl but Ranma is telling the truth. We'll prove it too if you could get us some hot and cold water."  
  
"This is insane! This kind of thing is impossible!" yelled Megumi.  
  
Kenshin merely stood up and walked out to fetch some water.  
  
"I for one won't judge you until I see the proof. For some reason I believe you though," he said while walking out.  
  
"Thank you very much," Akane and Ranma said at the same time.  
  
As the waited for Kenshin the two parties merely stared at each other. Not liking the scrutiny Ranma lowered his head when Akane grasped his hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Ranma smiled at her gratefully. Kaoru seeing the exchange lightened her mood. Seeing the two earlier had been an uplifting experience and even now she felt she wouldn't be able to stay angry with the two for very long. Kenshin entered the room again with the cold water and the hot water. Impatient to see the proof Sano handed the cups to Ranma.  
  
"Let's see if you're telling the truth."  
  
Without further encouragement Ranma dumped the water over his head. Feeling the change he closed his eyes and waited. As he opened them again he saw Kenshin merely looking with an interested expression on his face. Kaoru had a confused expression on hers while Yahiko and Sano had their jaws hanging down. Megumi was just looking on with total shock. Ranma quickly poured the hot water over his head. Relieved to be in his normal form he waited for their reactions. Akane held onto his hand once more waiting along with him. Kaoru once again spoke first.  
  
"Wow. You were telling the truth. I've never seen anything like it."  
  
"I knew you were. I could see it in your eyes. I could tell you were an honest person," Kenshin said smiling.  
  
"Sometimes brutally so," Akane joked.  
  
Ranma glared at Akane for a moment then soften his face relieved that at least two of them had accepted him. Yahiko gave him reaction he had not anticipated.  
  
"Man, that's so weird! But it's so funny! This guy who turns into a girl looks better than you do busu! Hahahaha!" he laughed while pointing at Kaoru.  
  
Kaoru immediately became angry hitting Yahiko over the head. Sano just laughed.  
  
"Hah! You look just like a girl. So what are you really?"  
  
"I'm a guy!"  
  
"Then why'd you come here as a girl?" Sano asked still not trusting him as years of distrust had not been totally erased by his friendships.  
  
"Look, I just happened to be like that for the moment. Give me a break!" Ranma yelled back.  
  
"Whatever, you're probably just a girly boy."  
  
"Want to say that again?! I could take you on with me eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back. And that's on one of my bad days!"  
  
"Hey, calm down Ranma." Akane said trying to calm him down.  
  
"Yeah right! You probably couldn't hurt a fly!"  
  
"Settle down Sano!" Megumi yelled finally recovering from her shock, well not totally but enough to function once again.  
  
"That's it! You want to fight with me! I'll take you on right here right now!" Ranma challenged.  
  
"That's fine with me. I feel like puching something right now," Sano started when his stomach grumbled, followed by Yahiko's stomach. "That is, of course, after we eat."  
  
Everyone stared at him for a second then face faulted.  
  
*****  
  
After everyone had eaten they had all gone into the dojo. Kenshin sat down looking almost eager to see Ranma fight. Kaoru had decided to judge the match since it was her dojo. Akane was standing next to Ranma while Megumi was next to Sano. Yahiko sat next to Kenshin.  
  
"Go easy on him ok" Megumi and Akane said to their respective fighter.  
  
"So who do think will win?" Yahiko asked Kenshin.  
  
"…"  
  
"Well?!"  
  
"Huh? Well, I don't really know. I know how good Sano is but I've never seen Ranma fight. But I did see him at the Akabeko and he was doing some very impressive stuff. This fight will be interesting to say the least."  
  
This threw Yahiko off because he had thought that Sano would have had this fight bagged. Yahiko turned his attention to the fight as Akane and Megumi sat down next to him. Kaoru stepped in between the two fighters and raised her hand.  
  
"There are no rules in this fight. Anything goes!"  
  
"Heh, that's fine with me," Ranma said with a smirk on his face.  
  
"Same here," agreed Sano  
  
"No time limit. The first one who is unable to fight loses. Start!" She yelled before backing away from the two.  
  
The two fighters looked at each other as if trying to size the other one up. Sano feeling cocky launched the first attack. He went in with a punch straight to the head. Ranma ducked seeing the punch a mile away. However, Sano, expecting this, turned his punch downward at the last second. Not having enough time to maneuver Ranma tilted his head sideways. A thin line of blood showed up his face. Ranma merely brushed the blood away and got a serious look in his face.  
  
"Looks like I'll have to get serious."  
  
Sano, hearing this, kicked at Ranma. Ranma flipped backwards dodging the kick easily. He then entered into a basic fighting stance. Sano raced in once again with a punch with his right hand. Waiting for the last second Ranma quickly moved at the last second with incredible speed leaving an after image. Moments later Sano felt a kick hit him square in the back of the head. He stumbled forward but caught himself and stood up again. Just as he turned around he felt three kicks hit him in the front. Not having enough time to effectively block any of them he was pushed backwards even more. Sano however having an incredible amount of endurance held his ground. Ranma took a different stance that allowed better offensive tactics.  
  
'Man, it's like fighting Ryoga. This guy just won't let up. He's tougher than I thought he would be.'  
  
'This kids pretty good. He's fast too. I'll never win if I can't touch him!'  
  
Kenshin just watched intently. That was when he blinked. There was a blue aura surrounding Ranma. It was very faint but the fact that it was visible astounded him. As he watched he was intrigued as this boy seemed to have a lot of control over his chi.  
  
'I'm going to have to really get serious. I guess I might need to use some special techniques on him. Oh well. Here goes nothing,' thought Ranma.  
  
With that thought Ranma jumped at Sano then said three words. Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. Seconds later Sano literally felt hundreds of punches hit him over and over all over the front of his body. When Ranma stopped Sano was on his knees panting.  
  
"Ranma! You didn't have to use that!" Akane yelled from the sidelines.  
  
The rest of the Kenshin Gumi just watched. They had never seen anyone move quite as fast as Ranma just had. Kenshin just sat and considered what he had just seen. He had felt the chi running through Ranma's fist. A burst of chi had infused his fists with normally unattainable speeds and power. Kenshin had done similar things yet at a lower level. He watched as Sano slowly got to his feet. He had to admit though that Sano was one hell of a fighter. The type of endurance he showed was incredible.  
  
"Damn. What the hell did you do?" sputtered Sano.  
  
"Was that too much for you?" taunted Ranma.  
  
"No way. The fights just starting!" yelled Sano and rushed at Ranma with even greater speed than before.  
  
"Futae no kiwami!" he yelled as his own technique connected with Ranma's stomach.  
  
The punch knocked the wind out of Ranma as he hit the wall at the far end of the dojo. Sano started laughing.  
  
"How do you like that you little punk?" Sano taunted this time when Ranma sat up.  
  
He jumped to his feet and stretched his muscles a little. Then with a grin he cracked his knuckles.  
  
"Is that the best you can do? I've felt worse from women!" yelled Ranma who appeared to be fine, when in fact he was feeling a lot of pain.  
  
Of course, when you think about the kind of women Ranma fight, that's not really too bad of a comment. But Sano, not knowing this, became enraged.  
  
"That's it you're going down!"  
  
Sano charged forward with a punch that would have killed a normal man. Ranma merely grabbed the punch pulled Sano towards him then flipped him over and threw him against the same wall Ranma had hit just moments before. Sano got right back up and attacked Ranma again. Everything he threw Ranma dodged with incredible speed and skill. Yahiko just watched in amazement while Kaoru and Megumi were left speechless. When Sano threw a punch at Ranma's head Ranma jumped. Now the fact that jumped wasn't surprising to anyone. The fact that he touched the ceiling with his feet did. With immense power he ricocheted himself off the ceiling and with incredible speed he dropped an axe kick right at Sano's shoulder. As he hit he quickly maneuvered his body and threw a spinning back kick at Sano's midsection, which was only done to regain his balance again. Ranma quietly landed back on the floor and panted slightly. Kenshin looked at Ranma in amazement. Ranma had just done something remarkably similar to his Ryu tsui sen technique. The only difference had been the adaptation of using his leg instead of a sword. He wondered silently where he might have learned the techniques he seemed to be using with practiced ease. Sano on the other was having a bout of dejavu. He didn't remember feeling this amount of pain since his fight with Kenshin or Saitou. This kid had beaten him. Really bad at that. Unable to accept defeat Sano stood his ground. Ranma took up a fighting stance once again in anticipation of any type of assault.  
  
'Damn! This guy won't go down. He's got almost as much endurance as Ryoga and I'm sure he's never even been through the Bakusai Tenketsu training! I better finish this quick or this guys never gonna admit defeat!' thought Ranma.  
  
With that Ranma began his final assault. Sano seeing this took all of his will power and braced himself for the impending attack. He waited and waited. When nothing came he opened his eyes to see a fist right in front of his face. If Ranma had gone just a little further he would have been out cold.  
  
"There's no point in continuing. I win."  
  
Saying that he dropped his fist and turned around. Sano realizing he had truly lost relaxed. Then collapsed on the floor.  
  
"Sano!" Megumi yelled.  
  
"He'll be ok Megumi. He's taken worse and felt fine the next day," Kenshin said trying to calm her down. "How are you feeling Ranma? You took a hard hit back there."  
  
"I'm feeling fine!" Ranma said with great confidence when Akane poked him in the gut.  
  
"OWWWWWWW!!!!" Ranma yelled as he crouched on the floor grabbing his midsection.  
  
"Baka," Akane muttered under her breath.  
  
Megumi who just looked at both sadly, shaking her head, tended to both fighter's wounds. An hour later everyone was once again sitting around the table in the main room. Well Sano was lying on the ground near the table both groaning in pain. Ranma, while in a little better shape then Sano, sat against the wall.  
  
"Man I wish Tofu was here. He'd be able to fix me up in no time."  
  
"Oh stop complaining Ranma," Akane scolded.  
  
"Man that match was incredible! I haven't seen anything like that in a while!" Yahiko said.  
  
"I must agree. Ranma showed incredible skill in that fight," Kenshin agreed.  
  
"You're good but not as good as Kenshin though," Sano muttered from the floor.  
  
This made Ranma sit upright with a curious gleam in his eye. Kenshin noticed this immediately and sweat dropped.  
  
"Ranma! You will not be fighting anymore until you get yourself healed!" Akane yelled.  
  
"Come on! It's just a friendly match and I feel fine," Ranma complained when Akane poked him in the stomach again.  
  
"OWWWWW!!! Ok Ok! I understand! No fighting," Ranma yelled.  
  
"That's better."  
  
Then Ranma stuck his tongue out at Akane. Akane saw this and stuck hers out at him. Kenshin watched the exchange with an amused look, as did Kaoru. Then Akane yawned.  
  
"Man, I'm getting sleepy. I think I'll go to sleep soon," Akane said while yawning.  
  
Kaoru got up and motioned for Akane to follow her. Ranma got up as well and followed the two. Megumi helped Sano get up and both said there goodbyes and left. Yahiko went to his room while Kenshin followed Kaoru at a distance. When they got to the guest room Akane and Ranma just stared at the room.  
  
"So where do I sleep?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Umm… well right here," Kaoru said a little embarrassed.  
  
"But there's only one futon!" Akane and Ranma yelled at the same time.  
  
"Yeah, well when I set it up I thought Ranma was a girl so I thought it wouldn't matter at all. I can't really do anything about it because this is the only spare futon we have and it happens to be a double," Kaoru said.  
  
"But, but…" stammered Akane.  
  
"I'm really sorry about this Akane. There's nothing I can do about it though. All the other futons are singles and they're all being used already."  
  
Akane and Ranma looked at the room once again. Then both sighed in defeat. They realized there was no point in arguing, as they were guests.  
  
"I understand," gave in Akane.  
  
With that Kaoru left the two to themselves. As she walked out Kenshin walked up to her.  
  
"That was mean Kaoru-dono. You know you could have just shared the double with Akane and Ranma could have used your futon."  
  
"Hehe. I know, but did you see those two. I'm sure they won't mind one bit."  
  
Kenshin sighed but knew that she had told the truth.  
  
"Don't tell them ok. They're so funny! Even if Ranma is a guy I don't think I'll mind having those two around too much."  
  
"There's definitely something interesting about those two," Kenshin said smiling while walking to his room.  
  
The two said their goodnights and went to their respective rooms. Back in the guest room Ranma and Akane were trying to figure out what to do.  
  
"So I guess there's nothing much we can do. Just don't try anything funny mister," Akane said.  
  
"Uh, no problem. I mean it's not like this is really bad or nothing. We are fiancées and all you know."  
  
"Yeah, that's right," Akane said quietly, smiling.  
  
With that she crawled into the futon. Ranma slowly made his way in next to her. Even though they both remembered the time they had slept in each other's arms they were still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping in the same futon. After almost five minutes of not moving Akane sighed and decided to just go to sleep. Moments later Akane was asleep. While sleeping she turned to face Ranma. Ranma seeing her face so close to his blushed bright red. He then looked at her lovingly. He then bent his head and kissed her on the forehead. If he had done something like this before their time traveling trip he would have been hit half across Tokyo. Seeing her sleep though made Ranma feel sleepy as well. Slowly he too fell asleep. He also ended up facing Akane. Then for some reason Ranma put his arm around Akane. Akane let out a contented sigh. However, neither knew what was happening as they were both wrapped up in their own dreams. Unbeknownst to the couple Kaoru and Kenshin were watching from the door. Both were smiling. Kaoru took a look at Kenshin and let out a sigh. Kenshin looked up to see what was wrong to stare right into Kaoru's eyes. Both stayed like that for a moment before blushing. Muttering goodnights they rushed to their rooms again. Both lay awake for a long time unable to get to sleep. Eventually they went to sleep dreaming on one another.  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Thank you for the positive reviews this fic has gotten. I hope you all keep on enjoying it! Will Kenshin and Ranma end up fighting? And what of the mirror? How will they return to their own time? Answers will come in forth coming chapters! Until next time keep on R&R! 


	7. The Mistake

Chapter seven: The Mistake  
  
The beam of light came into the guestroom through one of its windows. The light moved little by little until it reached the rooms two inhabitants bathing them in its warmth. Both were sleeping contently on their futon with their arms around each other. Slowly Akane opened her eyes only to find herself mere inches from Ranma's face. The close proximity reminded her of all the special moments they had shared together since their little adventure had begun. Her favorite still had to be the shopping trip they had taken together. She remembered Ranma's sweet behavior. If anyone at home had seen them together like this they would have had a wedding set up in mere seconds. Then Ranma's numerous suitors and enemies would probably crash it. Akane sighed as she thought about everything back at home. She hugged Ranma tighter as if she was worried he would suddenly disappear. The sudden tightening caused Ranma to slowly open his eyes.  
  
"Kawaii…" Ranma sputtered half awake half asleep.  
  
Akane blushed bright red from the statement and snuggled into Ranma's chest when she realized exactly what she was doing. She immediately jumped up from where she was, muttering incoherent things. The sudden movement caused Ranma's brain to jump-start. He jumped up as well wondering what was happening.  
  
"What's happening?!" he yelled confused by the sudden movements.  
  
"Uh, nothing really," Akane said softly.  
  
"What? Ah man, now you woke me up. Oh well, might as well stay up. Hey Akane, you want to start some training in the dojo? I'm sure Kaoru won't mind at all."  
  
"Huh? Ok. Let's ask Kaoru first though."  
  
"Oh yeah sure."  
  
With that the two got up and made there way to Kaoru's room. Akane told Ranma to wait outside and went into Kaoru's room.  
  
"Umm Kaoru? Are you awake?"  
  
"Mmm? Kenshin? Is that you?" Kaoru muttered still in a state of sleep.  
  
"No, it's Akane. You know you're new house guest."  
  
"But I don't want to wake up Kenshin. I'm still tired," Kaoru muttered, totally ignoring what Akane was saying.  
  
"Umm… I'm not Kenshin. It's Akane. A-kan-e. Hello?"  
  
Kaoru, not hearing a word from Akane, kept on talking to herself.  
  
"I'll only wake up under one condition… You have to…" she started when a big smile broke out on her face. (Stop thinking dirty things!)  
  
Akane watched a little startled at the smile then smiled herself. She quietly made her way out of the room and motioned for Ranma to follow her. Akane led Ranma back into their room.  
  
"Well… what happened? Can we use the dojo?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, I don't know. She was still sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up," Akane said smiling.  
  
'She seemed to be having too good of a dream to have to wake up,' Akane thought mentally giggling.  
  
"Man, I might as well go back to sleep then. Wake me up later Akane," and with that Ranma slipped back under the covers of the futon.  
  
Akane just stared at Ranma for a few seconds. She was sorely tempted to just jump back into the futon with Ranma. She was just about to go in when she heard some noises coming from outside her room. She got up, took one last glance at Ranma, and made her way to the source of the noise. She eventually made her way into the kitchen and saw Kenshin starting breakfast. Seeing a chance to try her culinary skills once more she eagerly bounded into the kitchen to ask Kenshin if she could help.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma had barely fallen asleep when he suddenly sat up right with sweat covering his face and out of breath. He immediately knew something was wrong. He had just been overwhelmed with a sense of danger.  
  
'What the hell?! I just felt something dangerous! Huh? Where's Akane?!'  
  
With that thought he jumped straight up and ran around looking for Akane fearing the worst. He found her in the worst possible place. The kitchen. He stared wide-eyed as Kenshin was backed against one wall fighting some type of green creature down with his sword while Akane was beating it over the head with her mallet. He immediately came to a conclusion, which happened to be the right conclusion. Akane had tried to cook again. Ranma grabbed the bowl that the thing happened to be in and as quickly as he could threw it out the door of the house. Kenshin and Akane came running out moments later.  
  
"Akane! What the hell is that thing?!" Ranma yelled.  
  
"I-I-I was just trying to cook you breakfast. I'm so sorry! I'm so bad at cooking!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.  
  
'I just wanted to make Ranma something special but it had to turn out like this.'  
  
Kenshin and Ranma on the other hand had their hands full trying to deal with the thing Akane had somehow created. Kenshin suddenly got a serious look in his eye and got into a fighting stance. Without so much as a warning he flew at the creature. At the last second he jumped high into the air and came rocketing down with his sakabatou.  
  
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryutsuisen!" he yelled while performing the said technique.  
  
Ranma watched in amazement, as Kenshin seemed to do a technique remarkably similar to one of his own. He quickly rummaged through his memory for any mention of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu fighting style. Coming up with nothing for the moment he just watched as the creature was sliced down the middle, then flop onto the ground leaving a huge green mess. Ranma quickly looked at Akane to see if she was ok. He found her crying on the ground.  
  
"Hey! What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm so sorry Ranma. I'm such a failure at cooking. I can't do anything right," she cried.  
  
Ranma, with a little reluctance but a lot less then before, hugged Akane gently, momentarily forgetting that Kenshin was there. He quickly calmed Akane down and picked her up in his arms, as she had fallen asleep. He carried her back into the house and laid her on her futon. As he walked out he wondered silently why Akane always seemed to fall asleep after she cried. He suddenly remembered the thing that Kenshin had destroyed and rushed outside forgetting his current train of thought. Once outside he found the mess almost completely gone and Kenshin walking in looking like something out a very bad horror film. He was covered with green goo from head to toe. Ranma tried to resist the urge to laugh but found himself on the ground laughing. Kenshin, finding the humor in the situation also started laughing. As both entered the house they came face to face with Kaoru and Yahiko. The four looked at each other for a split second when Kaoru screamed.  
  
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Monster! Go kill it Yahiko!"  
  
"Uh, sorry about this Kaoru-dono. It was just fighting some of Akane-dono's cooking outside. I'll clean up immediately."  
  
With that said he raced into the bathroom to get the goo off of himself. Kaoru and Yahiko just stood dumbfounded for a moment. Ranma went up to them and waved his hands in front of their faces.  
  
"Uh… hello? Anyone home? Uh… oh well… might as well go check up on Akane again."  
  
With that Ranma headed back to Akane and his room. Moments later Sano walked up to the front door and looked at Kaoru and Yahiko.  
  
"HEY! JO-CHAN! YAHIKO! What the hell's wrong with you two?!" he yelled.  
  
Not getting any reaction he just muttered to himself and went inside to find Kenshin. Seconds later a loud scream was let off by Sano.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Calm down Sano! It's just me! Kenshin! Settle down!"  
  
"Uh… I'm outta here!" Sano yelled while running out the door of the household.  
  
Hearing the yell Ranma realized Sano had also seen Kenshin. He laughed to himself silently as he watched Akane sleep. That was when he returned to his previous train of thought. Akane had been sleeping a great deal. He wondered why because they had not done any real strenuous activities yet. As he watched he silently wondered if something had happened to her since they had arrived. Not being able to think of anything he put the thought out of his mind and continued watching over Akane. He still couldn't believe he had told he loved her. He had known for a while now but he hadn't planned on telling her, but when she answered yes it had been the most wonderful thing ever. He had felt so good lately. It wasn't just happiness, it was more like a completeness that filled his heart. He was content. He briefly wondered what everyone back in Nerima was doing. Realizing he didn't care all too much he put it out of his mind as well. That was when his stomach gave off a loud growl.  
  
"Oh man, almost forgot I didn't have breakfast yet! Heh, well get a good rest Akane. I'll be back after breakfast!"  
  
With that Ranma went off to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat. Akane merely grunted in her sleep. She was currently immersed in a dream unlike any she had had before.  
  
*****  
  
Akane stood in an open field of grass. As she looked around she realized that she was back in Nerima. But something was bugging her so she decided to walk around. She quickly realized she was in the park and got out to find someone she knew. As she walked out she spotted Kuno walking around with his bokken at his side. Not wanting to deal with him she quickly went the other way when she ran into Ryoga.  
  
"Uh… hey Akane…" Ryoga stammered.  
  
"Oh! Hello Ryoga-kun! I didn't see you there."  
  
"Oh, that's ok. So… what are you doing?"  
  
"Huh? Umm… nothing really…"  
  
"Oh well that's good. So how have you been? I mean, you're not sad are you? I mean, what kind of question is that?! Of course you're sad! I hope you're doing ok. It must be hard on you to have to deal with this."  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Uh… you're not sad?"  
  
"Why should I be?"  
  
"Well, I thought that maybe you might be sad from Ranma's death but I guess not…"  
  
"WHAT?! When did Ranma die?!"  
  
"Huh? Didn't you know? I mean, you were right there with him when it happened weren't you?"  
  
"When what happened?" Akane yelled getting more and more confused by the minute.  
  
"When he got killed! Jeez, I feel a little sorry for Ranma. You don't even remember him and he died saving your life. Man, poor guy. Well, I have to get going. It was nice talking to you."  
  
With that Ryoga walked away quickly getting himself lost in the fog that seemed to have descended into Nerima. Akane stood shocked at what she had just heard. Without a moments notice she sprinted to her house to see what was going on. As she approached the house she saw groups of people standing around an open casket. Friends, allies, and even some one-time enemies stood around the casket. As Akane approached the casket her heart sank as she saw Ranma pale white lying down. She sank to her knees in complete horror of what she was seeing. Unable to stop the tears they fell down her face without warning. Some looked back at her with compassion, others with contempt. However even the most bitter rivals couldn't stay angry long. They quickly turned their attention back to Ranma.  
  
"W-what happened?" Akane stuttered through her tears.  
  
"What do you mean what happened!" Ukyo screamed.  
  
"Yes! What is pervert girl talking about?!" Shampoo yelled.  
  
"B-but I don't know…" Akane tried to say when Ukyo slapped her in the face.  
  
"How dare you forget what Ranma did?! He died trying to save your sorry ass! He DIED saving YOU!" Ukyo screamed through her tears.  
  
"I didn't…" Akane tried again.  
  
"DIE!" Shampoo yelled rushing at Akane when Cologne stopped her.  
  
"Stop Now! There will be no deaths! No one is at fault! Ranma did this on his own accord. Would he be happy if he found out the one he died saving was killed only days later?! You will both stop now!" Cologne yelled at both Ukyo and Shampoo.  
  
Both girls stepped back and quickly turned around. Akane just sat there stupefied at what was going on. She slowly got up and made her way to the dead Ranma. There she touched his face. It was so cold that she immediately withdrew it in surprise. She looked up into the sad faces of her family and friends. She once again looked down at Ranma's pale face as the tears started to fall once again. She felt dizzy all of a sudden. She grabbed onto the casket to keep her balance but something was causing her to black out. As she stood there she took one last glimpse at Ranma, then faded back into the darkness. She jumped awake screaming.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma was currently eating with everyone, as they had all recovered from the shock. Sano had already run away so they had just left him be to come to whatever conclusions he wanted to. That was when they all heard Akane's scream. Ranma immediately jumped up and ran to her as fast as he could. As he entered her room he found her sitting upright with her eyes closed and tears running down her face screaming. He quickly took her up in his arms and tried to calm her down.  
  
"RANMA!!!! I'm so sorry!" Akane wailed.  
  
"Calm down! I'm not mad at you for trying to cook!" Ranma stated completely oblivious to what Akane was talking about.  
  
"Please don't leave me! I'm so sorry. Oh god…" Akane murmured getting quieter.  
  
"Don't worry, I wont ever leave you. Now settle down. You're scaring everyone. It was just a nightmare," Ranma consoled.  
  
As Kaoru saw this she gasped. Kenshin looked at her in worry.  
  
"Are you all right Kaoru-dono?"  
  
"Did you see her eyes… when they opened for a second… oh my god… I know that look…" Kaoru stuttered.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kenshin asked getting worried.  
  
"She looks… like she just lost someone… I can feel it from her… Someone incredibly important to her…"  
  
"It was just a dream. Nothing to worry about," Kenshin consoled.  
  
"Maybe…" Kaoru answered.  
  
Meanwhile Ranma had finally calmed Akane down. He was cradling her in his arms as she silently cried into his shirt. Ranma whispered encouraging words into her ear. He also looked at her in worry wondering what kind of dream she had had. He couldn't remember a single event that had ever affected Akane this badly. He just sat in silence looking at Akane with a worried look.  
  
*****  
  
"What did you do to the poor girl?!"  
  
"I didn't do anything! I swear it! I was sure I made that mirror come here, but when I checked it wasn't there!"  
  
"This isn't funny! You know what will happen if the big guy finds out we've been playing around with humans lives! We'll be sentenced to solitude for a thousand years!"  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'll go see what I can do."  
  
With that the two gods vanished. Meanwhile, in the soul of a young girl lied the dormant powers of the Nanban mirror. Threads of magic wove themselves around the vulnerable soul. The reason the powers lay dormant was that the girl's soul was currently blocking all ways the magic might entwine itself wit it. It was as if the soul was waiting for something already. The threads put their magic out to find out what the obstacle in their way was. As it searched, it discovered that this soul was already bound with another. They needed to remove the bond in order to use the soul completely. The threads went out in search of that other soul with one purpose, to destroy it. Their target: Ranma Saotome.  
  
  
  
Author's notes: That took a while. Hope you all enjoy this latest installment! Sorry if it's a little short. I'll try to make the next ones longer! Please R&R lots! Thanks to everyone whose supported me so much in writing! Until next time! 


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